Celebrating volunteers and scouts

Soroptimist International of Brea/La Habra, established in 1973, has awarded $9,000 in scholarships and grants to local women and nonprofits.

The club recently celebrated "40 Years of Service" at its annual awards dinner. Long-time members spoke about the club's beginnings in 1973 and the many community projects they accomplished, including funding the original gazebo in City Hall Park, donating to the renovation of the old city hall into a scout center, sponsoring the North vs. South Girls All-Star Softball Game for 19 years, working with Girl Scouts, fighting domestic violence and human trafficking and other projects.

Grants were also awarded to the Brea Resource Center, the Brea Senior Center, the Brea Olinda Life Skills Program, The Gary Center and Help for Brain Injured Children and the Crittenton Services for Children and Families.

Three outstanding women were also honored with donations: Joselyn Merritt, Women's Opportunity Award scholarship for a head of household woman pursuing further education; Claire Norman, the Violet Richardson Award for teen girls who do outstanding volunteer work; and Je'net Kreitner, the Ruby Award for her establishment of Grandma's House of Hope in Santa Ana, shelter and support for homeless and at-risk women.

To learn more about Soroptimist of Brea/La Habra, visit soroptimistblh.org or e-mail: sibrealahabra@gmail.com.

– Submitted by Terri Daxon

Three scouts earn gold

After more than two years of dedication and hard work, three members of Brea Troop 1104 have been awarded the Gold Award by the Orange County Girl Scout Council.

Catherine Borsting, Trianna Eichinger, and Taylor Fleming each worked and completed preliminary requirements for two years; chose a community issue to research, proposed a plan, presented their plan to the OC Girl Scout Council and then worked with their community to complete their approved project. Projects must be a long lasting endeavor which continues serving a community need.

All are graduating seniors from Brea Olinda High School. These scouts have all worked hard in Troop 1104 for many years: Taylor since first grade and Trianna and Catherine since second grade. All three have earned the highest awards for each level of girl scouting including the Bronze and Silver awards and now the Gold Award

All three were recently recognized for their achievements by the Brea/La Habra Soroptimist Club.